


All That Matters

by NsuYeula



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, Season 6 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-18
Updated: 2018-06-18
Packaged: 2019-05-25 02:28:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14967152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NsuYeula/pseuds/NsuYeula
Summary: Its been two years since I've seen you and I don't know where we stand, but right now is all that matters.





	All That Matters

**Author's Note:**

> Please go shower the wonderful @AJ_Lenoire with love and praise. She gave me the prompt for this story as well as beta read this for me and corrected some of my poorly worded and written sentences to make the story flow better, despite not being a Shieth fan. Best-est friend I could ask for.  
> The story is also was loosely based on the lyrics of All that Matters by Casey Lee William (Part of the RWBY V5 soundtrack), as it is just a beautiful feels song.  
> Hope you enjoy!

It was strange to be back here. When they decided to head back to Earth after the destruction of the Castle of Lions, they’d agreed to land the Lions in a more inconspicuous spot, so they didn’t get the entirety of the Garrison on their tail like the night Shiro had crashed back to Earth. Even Lance agreed it would be the safest bet. They still had a very weak Shiro—as well the Alteans, who’d had never visited Earth before—and they needed somewhere to set up base and plan their next move. Luckily, they knew a place.

Being back at the shack was almost too surreal for Keith. The last time he’d been here, Shiro had fallen from the sky, they’d somehow gotten tangled in with Lance, Pidge and Hunk and then was transported across the galaxy in a massive blue robot lion. Now he was sitting on the floor of his bedroom, hiding away from the chaos that was taking place in the room in front of him. 

Hunk was attempting to cram their excessive amount of food into Keith’s small fridge as Coran and Allura were asking Lance any and all questions about human technology, confused at how primitive it all was. Pidge had completely trashed the living room by covering any and all surfaces with the computers she’d managed to load onto the Green Lion. Wires and cables were now a severe trip hazard as she sat in the middle of her sea of technology, working vigorously. The weird puffball creatures she’d been keeping as pets after the wormhole incident hovered over her head, watching her intently. 

His mother—even two years in the Quantum Abyss hadn’t quite acclimatized him to those words—Krolia had excused herself a little while ago, having decided she wanted to go for a walk around the barren desert that surrounded the shack. He’d offered to go with her, but she’d just weakly smiled and shook her head, saying she needed some time to think. He let her go and watched her walk away. 

Returning to Earth had been difficult for him, but not just for him.

He pressed his head into the side of the mattress, periodically reaching up and stroking the knuckles of Shiro’s hand, almost as if to check he was still there—that he was real. Shiro was still very exhausted and pale from his fight with Keith, from having his soul transferred from the Black Lion into this body. It was still difficult for Keith to get his head around that. This wasn’t the same body anymore. This wasn’t the body who’d looked after him and mentored him back at the Garrison. 

It didn’t matter too much, not when the man he loved was breathing softly next to him; alive. He wasn’t a ghost anymore, not stuck in a limbo between life and death. He turned his head to the side and nuzzled Shiro’s hand briefly, keeping his forehead pressed against his cool skin. For two years, two years he’d missed him. True, it hadn’t been as bad as the almost two years between the departure of the Kerberos mission and the crash landing, when all he’d been left with had been a heartfelt kiss and the promise of seeing each other again. 

He still remembered seeing the news report for the first time. He still remembered the feeling of his heart shattering in his chest, doubling over for the pain of it, not being able to breathe. He still remembered the day his world had fallen apart. 

Back then he never thought he would see Shiro again, and for that he’d become reckless. What was the point of the Garrison now? It was so trivial in the wake of losing Shiro. And without Shiro to vouch for him, it’d only been a matter of time before, inevitably, he’d been expelled. 

The months after his expulsion from the Garrison were still one of the most difficult periods of this life. Even when Shiro had returned, Keith didn’t know what to do. So he did nothing. He pretended like the kiss had never happened, and he grew to be okay with that. He was happy as long as he was with Shiro again.  
At least, he’d kept telling himself that. 

But the two years in the Quantum Abyss had changed that. All those nights he spent alone without Shiro, knowing that somewhere, he was continuing his life without him, was painful. It was a pain he was, by that point, intimately familiar with. While he knew that time passed quicker in the Quantum Abyss, neither him nor Krolia knew by how much, and it’d still been more nights than he’d cared to count. At least then, he’d known Shiro was okay; with the others, safe and well. It’d been a difference from before; when he’d thought the man he loved was dead.

But now he was here. And Shiro was here—the real Shiro, this time. And that was all that mattered. He felt Shiro’s hand twitch and he lifted his head to see what was wrong.  
Shiro was staring at him. Admittedly, with very groggy eyes, clearly still between sleep and actually being awake. But he was awake. And he was looking at him. 

“Hey,” was all Keith managed to say, his voice small and soft. Shiro smiled weakly, burying his head a little further into the pillow.  
“Sorry for passing out the moment we arrived,” he murmured. 

Keith grunted a chuckle. “I’m surprised we even managed to get you awake long enough to get you out of the Black Lion and into the house to begin with.” A crash sounded from somewhere in the other room and someone—probably Lance—swore loudly in Altean. “Be glad you’ve been passed out,” he muttered wryly, “I’m not sure how well you could’ve handled the chaos that’s currently going on.”

Shiro let out a laugh, rolling slightly onto his back so he could look at Keith better. “I’m sure I would’ve been fine, we been through hundreds of battles with the Galra, I’m sure I could have handled any chaos out there.”

“I’d rather fight Zarkon again than go back out there,” Keith muttered. He felt Shiro’s hand move and ruffle his hair. He leans into the touch, just enjoying the moment the two of them finally had together. 

They sat like this for a while, Shiro playing with a rebellious strand of Keith’s hair while Keith relaxed into the bedframe. He didn’t want this to end. The peace.  
“You look exhausted Keith,” Shiro finally said. And the moment was over. Keith was pulled from his stupor of peaceful restfulness. He sat up and stretched his arms outwards in a catlike manner. 

“I haven’t really had the time to rest,” he admitted, “I flew as quickly as possible to the Castle to warn everyone about Lotor, and then it all just spiralled from there. Rescuing you, then having to fight Lotor, then going into the quintessence field…” He trailed off, and swallowed. And saving your life.

Shiro smiled. “Then you should probably rest, Leader.”  
Keith let out a small laugh. “I’ll never get used to being called that.”  
“Well, forget about that for now,” Shiro shrugged, “Come here.” Keith blushed slightly and gave Shiro a confused look. Shiro blinked, “Would you rather sleep on the floor?” he asked, “The floor isn’t that comfortable, we both know that, and there’s plenty of space for both of us to stay right here.” 

Keith didn’t really know how to respond. They hadn’t shared a bed since before the Kerboros Mission, when they used to cram themselves on Shiros bed, normally after Keith would have had a bad day and watch films, which always lead to Keith falling asleep on Shiro. He cautiously got up and moved to the over side of the bed, climbing on top of the mattress and lying down next to Shiro awkwardly. Shiro, though more awake then he was previously, was still sleepy, eyes glazed, face soft with slumber. 

“I’m glad I’m back,” he whispered, looking directly at Keith. 

“I’m glad you’re back, too.”

Shiro smiled, leaning over and pressing a kiss to Keith’s temple. He lingered for a moment. “I’m not going anywhere, I promise,” he whispered, “I’m never going to leave you again.” 

Keith’s eyes closed, and he breathed Shiro in. He knew that most likely Shiro wouldn’t be able to keep that promise; the last few years had shown that the universe would seemingly do anything to keep the two of them apart. Even without fate working against them; even if such a thing wasn’t real, they were Paladins. And that meant battle, and that meant danger. 

But right now, in this moment, he was here, and right now that was all that mattered. Whatever happened next would be something they would have to face then—and only then.  
In this moment, Keith leans up and captures Shiro’s lips in a brief kiss. It’s a little sloppy due from his exhaustion, but Shiro doesn’t mind. He kisses back gently and holds Keith close.

Right now is all that matters. 

\---  
“Has anyone seen Keith?” 

The room looked up at Krolia, standing at the entrance of the shack, backlit by the sunny day outside. Pidge was crouched in the centre of a web of cables, hunched over a computer. Hunk was fiddling with some tech, chatting to Romelle about how Altean technology had evolved in the new colony. Lance was sat with Allura and Coran, midway through a lecture on cars, with Hunk periodically cutting in to correct him on how an internal combustion engine worked. Keith was nowhere to be seen.

Pidge glanced up from her computer, “He disappeared an hour or two ago,” she said, “I assumed he went with you.” 

Concern flitted across Krolia’s face. It was understandable how reluctant she was to not know where her son was, after so long apart.  
Allura saw this, and said quickly, “He couldn’t have gone too far, it’s not like any of us have anywhere else to go”.

“Maybe he went to check on Shiro?” Lance suggested. Even though he was human, and possessed neither of healing magic nor first aid training, like Allura, Hunk or Pidge, he’d been Shiro’s most dedicated carer, to the surprise of nobody at all.

The group all got to their feet and attempted to navigate the sea of technology swarming across the floor. Upon opening the bedroom door, they found Keith sprawled on the bed, asleep next to Shiro. They were pressed close together, Shiro’s light snores ruffling Keith’s hair. So deep in slumber, they were dead to the world, which came as no surprise, given their exhaustion. But they wore the trace of smiles on their lips. Shiro’s remaining arm was tucked under Keiths neck and Keith hand was loosely fisted in the fabric of Shiro’s t-shirt. Another article borrowed from the late Texas Kogane.

Lance looked upon them with utter confusion. He opened his mouth to speak, but Allura was faster, and covered his mouth with her hand. “Don’t wake them,” she implored softly, “After all they’d been through, they need this.”

Pidge nodded in silent agreement, and the two began ushering the others back into the main room as quietly as possible. But Krolia hesitated a moment. She leant against the doorframe for a moment, smiling at the scene before her. Shiro looks almost nothing like Texas, and Keith looks very little like her. All the same, the image of the two of them is identical to the ones she remembers from twenty years ago.

“Rest well,” she whispers, before gently shutting the door.


End file.
